AbstractBachelor thesis G3 in Business Administration, Linnaeus University School of Businessand Economics, Financial Control, 2FE90E, Spring Semester 2010Authors: Kennerth Eriksson and Leo H KochAdvisor: Lars-Göran AidemarkTitle: Balanced Scorecard in governmental organizations ? About, how and its meaning.Background:  The Balanced Scorecard is a Control System that includes both financial andnon-financial measures which intend to link the short-term business management with the long term vision and strategy. Businesses in the public sectors are different fromthe private sector on several levels and they often seek to reach multiple targets.Therefore, their choice of Control System becomes interesting. According to the SwedishNational Financial Management Authority (Ekonomistyrningsverket) among others, thereis no clear knowledge of how widespread the Balanced Scorecard is in governmentalorganizations. The lack of that knowledge is one of the questions at issue with this thesis.Is it only a few organizations that are using the Balanced Scorecard or parts of the model?Another question at issue is about how the Balanced Scorecard is used in the point ofcontrolling in the organizations we chose to investigate further.Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is partly to investigate the existence and use of theBalanced Scorecard in governmental organizations and partly to describe the design ofthe Balanced Scorecard in the studied organizations and explain why they have chosen towork with the Balanced Scorecard and what impact it has on them.Demarcation: The first part of this study has been demarked to only look at the existenceof the Balanced Scorecard in governmental organizations.

This paper examined if childrens wellbeing affected their social and academic competence. The data was collected through an anonymous study using questionnaires, where the measuring instruments GHQ12 and EQ was used, and also a number of questions concerning academic competence. The population concisted twentytwo eight grade students, both girls and boys. The population had both Swedish and foreign ancestry. The result showed that wellbeing and the academic competence had a positive correlation.

In this study we have examined the possible quality standards and methods for applications with service workshops in the forest industry. The purpose of the methods presented here was to start the work of standarardising the maintenance service in the industry and be of use for service providers in their quality effort.The methods we used to accomplish the study were interviews and field visits together with a comprehensive literature research. Our results are presented in the form of four solution proposals: a standard based on existing SIS standards for terminology and key indicators, checklists that are filled in by mechanics with customer participation, the construction of a instructions database, and the implementation of the method 5s.We believe our suggestions can help the service providers in the four problem areas that we have identified: long term strategy, documentation, recruitment of competent technicians, and standard procedures in their operations. These improvements will be beneficial for both the service provider and the customer..

The purpose of this study is to examine how teachers and pupils experience the use of fictional literature as a tool for language development in the teaching of English as a foreign language. Through surveys and interviews and with Vygotsky?s theory on development in a social environment as a theoretical base, I examine which methods are used to promote language development and also which functions pupils and teachers consider fictional literature to have in the teaching of English. Results show that teachers consider fiction to be among the top methods to get pupils to learn English. Teachers and pupils both favour the use of fun and stimulating reading activities as well as group activities where learning is social to go along with the reading of fiction.

In this diploma work we present the results from a study of how adult immigrants utilise the services provided by the public library in Biskopsgården, Gothenburg. A survey encompassing 51 library visitors of foreign origin and an interview with two librarians at the library were performed.The results from the survey show that the majority of the informants were male students inages from 26 to 45 years and that they had been living in Sweden for a maximum of five years. 73% of the informants used the library to borrow literature in Swedish, 53% to read newspapers and periodicals in their native language, 43% to borrow literature in their native language and 43% to read newspapers and periodicals in Swedish.These results were compared with two other related studies with which partial correspondencewas found. In addition, related topics such as multicultural librarianship and the psychological aspects of immigration are discussed..

This paper aims to investigate abnormal returns for rivals to bidder targets in connection with the announcement of the bid. The study is based on 38 bids placed between September 2006 - January 2011 and 137 rival firms listed on Nasdaq OMX Nordic. We measure cumulative abnormal returns, CAR, for rival firms through an event study. We find that rival firms earn significant positive CAR in connection with the announcement of the bid. This is in line with the two-sided signaling effect presented by Akhigbe et al.

The core process is responsible for internal business development and is the process that runs through the organization and the results which creates a value for the customer. Some research suggests that identification of the client's conscious or unconscious needs clarifying the so-called core process in the organization and operations can thus be more effective. The study aims to identify and analyze the experience of the core process within child health care. The method has been interviews with nine managers and 10 clinic nurses in a county. The results show a lack of knowledge regarding core process and process work.

The core process is responsible for internal business development and is the process that runs through the organization and the results which creates a value for the customer. Some research suggests that identification of the client's conscious or unconscious needs clarifying the so-called core process in the organization and operations can thus be more effective. The study aims to identify and analyze the experience of the core process within child health care. The method has been interviews with nine managers and 10 clinic nurses in a county. The results show a lack of knowledge regarding core process and process work.

The foremost objective of business organizations is to generate value for shareholders and to opt for strategies which optimize it. Hence it is of key concern for business leaders to appreciate how operations best are run to maximize value creation. This study explores how financial theory can reveal the link between one particular business strategy and the corresponding effect on shareholder wealth. The question in focus is whether construction companies can enhance their value creation by implementing shift-work to increase the weekly production rate. The thesis particularly targets apartment block projects in Sweden and has the construction company Peab AB as primary object of study.

The aim of this study is to study how sustainability policies are implemented and perceived in the operations of a Swedish fashion company. The fashion industry is affected by strict controls when it comes to transparency and reporting of sustainability efforts. This contributes to a strong focus on sustainability. The theoretical framework revolved around institutional theory where the phenomenas of decoupling and recoupling were central. A qualitative case study was conducted where interviews were the primary source of data.

Over the last decade, the private insurance market has undergone a stable growth in turnover and growing demand for insurance products in all Member States of the European Union. Therefore, the creation of a single market in insurance will enable consumers to have access to wider choice of insurance products, and insurance companies to gain access to markets in various Member States and compete effectively. The EU legal framework for the insurance industry embraces the Treaty freedoms of services, establishment and capital, the EC Directives and the ECJ case-law. The present thesis identifies numerous factors that hinder the Community insurance market integration and offers possible remedies. The summary of the market obstacles is all-inclusive and reflects the responses to the questionnaires and the Commission surveys.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the handling of difficulties encountered by Swedish managers in Swedish subsidiaries in South Korea. By identifying the most common and possibly most manageable difficulties specific to the market we categorized them into three different groups; external difficulties, internal difficulties and difficulties related to the leadership. Depending on where in the environment and in relation to which stakeholder the difficulties originate the managing process comes to be supported through sometimes contradictory theories. Our study implies that the proper handling is crucial to satisfy local expectations which are critical for survival of Swedish companies. It also implies that the leadership skills acquired by the Swedish managers combined with the level of acceptance for foreign managers among the Korean coworkers affect how influential the manager?s ambitions are.

This paper aims to analyze if ground based air defence of the Swedish Defence Forces is sufficiently equipped to protect units serving abroad. The Swedish ground based airdefece has its roots in the era of the cold war but the focus of Swedish Defence Forces has shifted from defending Swedish territory to peace keeping and peace enforcement in foreign countries. First I will take a look at the base factors for ground based air defence units serving in a peace keeping or enforcing mission and then use this to define what abilities you would like to have in a ground based air defence system. Finally I will compare these abilities whit the abilities of the ground based air defence systems that are in use whit the Swedish Defence Forces.My conclusion is that the question can´t be answered on a generel level but every mission has to be analyzed individualy.The author of this paper is Cadet Tobias Jönsson studying at the The Armed Forces Technical School to become an officer in the Swedish Defence Forces..

This essay will try to analyze how Syria?s official news agency, SANA, describes events taking place in Syria in the days between 1.4 and 18.4.2012. This will be contrasted with how BBC and CNN describe the events. These other two news agencies were chosen, because they represent media from democratic countries in Europe and the USA. This rebellion became a full scale civil war over time.

Most of today?s concrete structures that are built on site are mainly constructed in a traditional fashion with a lot of artisanal operations. One step towards industrializing the in-situ construction of concrete is to use prefabricated reinforcement. Through this method there can be a lot of savings when each bar doesn?t have to be placed and fixed separately on site.